Double Chocolate Stout - 12-30-2012

Today, we went to visit a guy with his own brew room, and made a double chocolate stout using all grains.  It was the first time I've made an all grain batch of beer.  It takes a lot more time than using extracts and malts because all of the sugars come from the grains.   You have to run water through the grains and maintain the water temperature.  It requires a bit more precision.  It was definitely fun, but definitely longer.  We also had a chance to sample some of his other beers and met his two dogs, who like to drink beer.  Photos below.

Honey Amber - Version 2

On Saturday, 12/22/2012, I went to the homebrew store and the liquor store and picked up more oak chips and Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon.  My amber ale that fermented with the oak chips that were soaked in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon was so popular that I decided to make another batch of that ale.  It was also one of my personal favorites.  The oak chips soak in the bourbon for 2 months, so it will be at least February before I can make this batch of beer.  Add 4 weeks for fermentation and another two weeks in the bottle, so it probably won't be until April when it's ready.

My Beer of the Year

It's official!  The feedback on the Honey Bourbon Amber Ale is the best I've received of anything I've made this year.  All of my tasters have really liked it.  I'm going to have to make that one again.  Gotta get some oak chips and some more Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon.  Have to soak them for two months before I can make the beer.  A three month process, but worth the wait.

Non-Alcoholic Sangria - 12-14-2012

Today, I gave out multiple samples of my home brew, sangria, lemon cello, and a non-alcoholic sangria.  At the request of some of the samplers, I am attaching the recipe for the non-alcoholic sangria

4 cups cranberry grape juice
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
1 pear, diced
1 apple, diced
3 cups carbonated lemon-lime beverage

Refrigerate all ingredients except the lemon-lime beverage for 2 hours.  Right before serving, add the lemon-lime beverage.

Holiday Cheer!!!

Today, I was finally able to bottle my home brew that has been fermenting for 8 weeks.  It was a seasonal called Saison De Noel.  It was fairly complicated because it actually had a "malt schedule", which is basically putting in different malts during different times of the cooking process.  I was used to a "hop schedule", which is hops at different times of the boil, but this was the first "malt schedule".  It had a lot of ingredients in it, and was very aromatic when I was bottling it.  

I also bottled a Lemoncello that has been fermenting for several weeks.  I was able to find 12 oz wine bottles that I could cork.

I made a non-alcoholic Sangria, which is a recipe I made last summer and was very popular.  

Last, but not least, I made the real Sangria recipe.  This one is loaded with wine, triple sec, and brandy.  The taste is fantastic.

The plan is to distribute these to friends and co-workers based on preference.  It's been a lot of fun making everything.  I love the process of experimenting with different recipes and combinations.  I probably missed out on a career as a chemist, but I think I like it better as a hobby anyway.

Brewing Activities - 12-2-2012

Today, I made the final kit that I ordered a couple of months ago.  It's called the Brickwarmer Holiday Red.  Reds are one of my favorites as far as boldness of taste and not as strong on the hop end of things.  This one had the malt added all at the beginning of the boil, while the other winter and seasonal ales had the malt added in different phases.  Also, this one had a spice pack of sweet orange peel that is in during the fermentation.  The aroma is excellent!  I think that has been my favorite part of making the winter and holiday ales is the fact that the aroma and spices are very pleasant to the smell.  More than likely, bottling will be the end of December, and then distribution in mid-January.

Here are the ingredients

.5 lb of English Dark Crystal
.25 lb Baird's Carastan
.25 lb Pale Chocolate

6 lbs NB Gold malt syrup
1 lb Wheat dry malt extract
1 lb Amber dry malt extract

1 oz Brewers Gold (60 minutes in boil)
1 oz Styrian Goldings (10 minutes in boil)
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel (add at the end of the boil)

Honey Amber - 11-25-2012

Today, we bottled the beer I'm probably most excited about.  I took an Amber recipe, and added oak chips that had been soaking in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon for two months.  As I was bottling, I noticed a very slight "oaky bourbon" scent to it, which is exactly what I was shooting for as far as flavor goes.  I got 10 of the 22oz bottles and 28 of the 12 oz bottles.  It will be in the bottle in my garage for about another two weeks, and then it's time for a taste.

Over the weekend, my daughter and I opened up our Bery Blonde, which was a blonde recipe with strawberries and raspberries added to it.  My first taste of this was a couple of weeks ago, and it was OK.  However, it appears that as it ages in the bottle, the flavor gets better.  It still has the consistency of cider, but the flavor gets better with age.

Also, the feedback on the Novemberfest (actually Oktoberfest that didn't finish by the end of October) has been excellent.  It had a spice pack with some nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange peels in it.  It has a very bold and strong flavor, so you can't drink a lot of it.  However, it's very smooth.  I was pleased the way that the spices and the hops came together to form a good flavor.

Beer Stock as of 11-23-2012

I did a complete inventory of all of my beer stock this morning while getting it organized.  In the table below, you will see all of the different recipes we have made.  This does not include the Amber with Oak Chips soaked in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon or the Seasonal Ale, which are currently fermenting (5 gallons each).

Right now, we have 2,104 ounces of beer in our available stock.  If you figure that we average 6 22 ounce bottles and 35 12 ounce bottles per batch, we have made 552 ounces of beer per batch.  At 15 batches (75 gallons before fermentation), we have made 8280 ounces of beer.  Given that I only have 2104 ounces of beer left, that means I've given (not sold) 6176 ounces of beer to family, friends, and co-workers.

Holiday Ale Bottling - 11/18/2012

Today, I bottled the Holiday Ale with a friend.  It has a combination of orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg flavors.  The smell was fantastic.  If the smell is any indicator, the taste of this batch of beer should be fantastic.

Brewing Activities on 10-28-2012

I'm late posting this entry that updates my brewing activities from last weekend.  I took an Amber Ale recipe, and then added oak chips that have been soaking in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon for the last two months during the fermentation process.  The yeast has been very, very active the entire week, and I'm anxious to see the results of this effort.  The taste should be fantastic as I did not add any bourbon to it.  I just added the oak chips.  So the oak bourbon flavor should not be very overwhelming.

Here is the recipe.  I got the kit online from Northern Brewer.

Grains

.5 pounds of Victory Malt
.5 pounds of Briess Caramel 60

Malt

1 pound Pilsen dry malt extract
6 pounds Munich malt syrup - added at the last 15 minutes of the boil

Hops

1 oz German Perle
1 oz Hersbrucker - added at the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Yeast - Safale US-05 Ale Yeast

Rather than just add the dry yeast to the wort, I decided to start it with a cup of warm water and some honey (since I was using Honey Bourbon).  I feel this gave the yeast a huge kickstart to the fermentation process, and should enhance the flavor.

Brewing Activities - 10/21/2012

Yesterday, I went to Pint Defiance in Tacoma, and got a mini growler of Deschutes Chasin' Freshies Fesh Hop IPA.  It was very tasty, but also very, very hoppy.  In my opinion, almost too much hop flavor.  It was a different taste, which was interesting.  I would hope a deeper malty flavor with as much hop flavor as is in this beer.

Today, we bottled the Oktoberfest ale, which we are calling a Novemberfest because it won't be ready until November.  There was a significant boil off for this batch, so I only got 5 of the 22 ounce bottles and 31 of the 12 ounce bottles out of this batch.  The smell was really good, and the hop aroma was light.  The flavor should be strong, but less hoppy than some of the other beers I've brewed.

Also, I made a recipe I got online called Saison De Noel.  It is based on dark grains (Belgian Aromatic, Weyermann Carafa, Weyermann CaraAroma).  It's also loaded with a variety of malts (Candi Syrup - first time to use for me, Pilsner Malt syrup, Pilsen dry malt, and corn sugar.  What is interesting is that there is one round of US Magnum hops at the beginning of the 60 minute boil.  The dry malt is added 45 minutes into the boil, and then the corn sugar is added after the boil is done.  I'm anxious to see how this one turned out.  A bit different than anything else I've made.

Lastly, I took the grains and am making bread out of them.  It will be a darker bread, but the smell is quite good.  I'm anxious to see what it tastes like.  We use the same bread recipe because it's mostly grains, and the bread that comes out is always good in flavor.  The bread isn't necessarily good for sandwiches because it's very crumbly.  However, it's very good warm with either butter or garlic and olive oil as topping.

Activities on 10/14/2012

We brewed a Holiday Ale, which had a combination of wheat, rye, and chocolate grains.  Then, it also had a spice pack with orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  A bit light on the hops, but the smell is fantastic.  Started the fermentation last night, and it is happily bubbling away.  Really looking forward to how this one tastes!

Coming up

Bottling my Oktoberfest beer next weekend
Making an Amber with oak chips soaked in Bourbon for the last two months
Two different seasonal winter ales.

Hooray For Beer

You gotta love this song from Bowling for Soup...

Bowling For Soup Hooray For Beer lyrics

I was lost and down
Before you turned my life around
I never knew a love like this could happen
And they said I was too young
But when I turned 21
You gave me hope that's everlasting

Now everything is going my way
The sun's shining all around me
Bells are ringing and the birds are singing now
I wanna tell the whole world

Hooray For Beer!
I'm really glad you're here
Let's make this moment last
You feel so right
Wanna be with you all night
Shout it out
Hooray For Beer!

And sometimes when I wake
You seem like a mistake
My stomach's turning circles, my head is pounding
But at 5 o'clock
You say it's time to rock
And I can't resist, I gotta be around you

Now everything is hunky dory
The stars are shining all around me
There's a happy ending to my story now
I wanna tell the whole world

Hooray For Beer!
I'm really glad you're here
Let's make this moment last
You feel so right
Wanna be with you all night
Shout it out
Hooray For Beer!

I could hold you in my hands forever
Or at least until you're gone
And then I'll order another one

Now everything is going my way
The sun's shining all around me
Bells are ringing and the birds are singing now
I wanna tell the whole world

Hooray For Beer!
I'm really glad you're here
Let's make this moment last
You feel so right
Wanna be with you all night
Shout it out
Hooray!
Hip hip hooray!
Hooray For Beer!

Oktoberfest Beer

Today, I made an Oktoberfest beer.  By the time it's finished (i.e. ready in the bottles), it will be November, so I guess I'll have to call it Novemberfest.  As usual, the smell of the grains was fantastic.  It's based in some carmel malt grains, which are sure to make some very tasty bread.  The hops and hop schedule were somewhat lower than other beers I've made, but definitely strong enough for my wife to notice.  As part of the brewing process, I have come to notice that women are very sensitive to the smell of hops and "hoppy" beer.  Even with just a small bit of hops in this beer, it was noticeable.  It should be ready to go in about 6 weeks.

Lots of Bottling - 9/22/2012

Today, I bottled two different 5 gallon beers.  My first one was a toasted rye ale that I have made before and was very popular.  The second one was an IPA that is hopped only with Simcoe Hops.  Both smelled great, but the IPA has a very strong aroma.  They both will be two weeks in the bottle, and then available for samples.  As I type this, I'm drinking an IPA from a brewery in Central Washington called Old Schoolhouse.  Very tasty.

As far as bottling goes, I got 6 22oz bottles and 35 12oz bottles out of each batch.  Not bad as far as quantity goes.

I also picked up supplies to make an Oktoberfest beer tomorrow, and some friends are going to be picking more fresh hops to be used in one of my creations.

Weekend In Spokane - 9/14/2012

On the weekend of 9/14, I was invited to spend the weekend with my "sister" and her family in Spokane.  After a night at the fair, consuming things like french fries, cheesesteaks, a deep fried twinkie (with chocolate sauce), and deep fried butter (with raspberry sauce), I was treated to a tour of different orchards and farms.  Two great things happened.  For the first time, I picked my own hops.  They were Cascade Hops, and my "nieces" helped me pick them.  Second, I found an orchard that I could easily convert into a brew pub.  They had a front structure that could be a pub and restaurant, and a back structure where they harvest apples that could easily be converted to a place to brew beer.  I'm looking forward to using the hops in my next creation.

On Saturday, my "sister" and "brother-in-law" took me to a brewery in downtown Spokane.  It is called the Steam Plant, and is an old steam plant (with original equipment) converted to a restaurant and bar.  I had the sampler, which I thought would include about 6 samples.  Imagine my surprise when it contained 11.  It included a "peach ale", which was light, but outstanding.

Great weekend!

PS.  I almost forgot to mention something.  We uncorked the latest apertif creation, which combined cab sav wine, vodka, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  It was very smooth and a good combination of flavors.

"Bery Blonde" Review

This evening, I opened up a bottle of my "Bery Blonde", which is a combination of a blonde ale with a mix of raspberries and strawberries in it.  I added them during fermentation, and then also added small pieces of raspberry and strawberry to each bottle.  It was definitely one of my more experimental batches of beer, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I had read mixed reviews of fruit based beers on the different brewing web sites, so I knew there was a chance it wouldn't come out very good.

I have to say that overall, the flavor wasn't bad at all.  Because I added the berries to each bottle, I had to pour it into a pint glass in order to avoid getting parts of the berries in it when I drank it.  I would say that there is more than a "hint" of berry flavor, but it isn't overwhelming.  It was a bit tart from the raspberries, which I read can happen, and that the tartness fades as the beer ages.  So, I have several bottles of it that I'm planning to save to try after a couple more weeks.

It wasn't my worst creation, but was a bit less than I was hoping for.  I would like to try it again at some point and make some adjustments to the recipe.

IPA with Simcoe Hops

Today, I just finished making an IPA using Simcoe hops exclusively.   I got the recipe off the internet, and made it this morning.  Here is the recipe.  This beauty is now fermenting in my upstairs closet in a dark and cool place.

5 gallons of spring water
7 lb Light Dry Extract
1 lb Munich malt (grain)
.25 lb Crystal Malt 40L
1.5 oz of Simcoe hops to the boil for 60 minutes
.5 oz of Simcoe hops 55 minutes into the boil (5 minutes before the end)
.5 oz of Simcoe hops after the boil is complete while the wort cools down
.5 oz of hops added to the carboy (dry hop) during fermentation

I also took the grains and began a batch of bread.  It smells really good.  Will bake it later today and have with dinner.

Let's Get Started

When my son Andrew went off to college and began to enjoy beer, we spent a lot of time trying different types of microbrews.  We really enjoyed the different tastes and flavors.  For Christmas, in 2010, I got him a starter kit for home brewing.  We took it back to school, and we made our first beer in January of 2011 in Bellingham along with his roommate Max, and Max's dad Tim.  Our first creation was a clone of Rogue's Dead Guy ale and came out really good.  Andrew continued to brew with Max, and produced some really good home brews.

In January of this past year, Andrew moved to New Jersey to start graduate school at Rutgers University studying Music Performance.  The home brew kit ended up in our home in Issaquah, so I started to make different beers.  I also began to experiment with Apertif's, which use a base of wine and vodka along with seasonal fruits.  Along the way, I found a Sangria recipe that I also really enjoy making.

While I enjoy drinking anything we've made, I actually really enjoy the experimentation and process of making new and different beers and wine creations.  It's fun, and I love distributing what I make to friends and co-workers to get their feedback.

I brew about 2 or 3 times a month, and will be posting different things I've tried, along with things we are currently working on or have tried. 

Here is the beer we've made so far

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - Toasted Rye Ale (2nd batch in fermentation)
• Arrogant Bastard clone
• Shakespeare Stout clone
• Scotch Ale
• Scottish Ale
• American Amber
• American Amber with a bit of honey wheat
• Pale Ale - juiced up with an extra 1lb of malt
• Blonde Ale
• Bery Blonde - Blonde ale with strawberries and raspberries - recently bottled - 1 week to go

Here are the wine creations we've made so far.  All recipes include fruit, vodka, and sugar

• Sangria (recipe on the blog)
• White wine with strawberries - not the best combination
• White wine with raspberries
• White wine with pineapple and kiwi
• Cab Sav wine with raspberries, and oranges
• Cab Sav wine with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries

There will be polls so that those of you that have sampled our creations can rate your favorites.  We just love the process of making things and getting feedback so that we can improve and try new and different things.

I hope you enjoy reading about what we do as much as we enjoy doing what we do!